Related News
Related News
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EWEB opens application for 2024 Electric Mobility Community Grants
Grant awards of up to $30,000 to cover costs associated with electric mobility projects.
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The Big Freeze 2024: After Action Report
Winter 2024 was one for the records books, and we'll look back on it for years to come and say, "That was a doozy!" The back-to-back January Ice Storms caused widespread damage to EWEB’s service territory, affecting approximately 38,000 customers. Preliminary repair costs were over $8 million, and additional repairs to transmission lines are still required.
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Fixing the Unseen: Water Pipeline Replacement in Unincorporated Eugene
Learn more about EWEB's methods for monitoring and replacing aged water pipelines.
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Spring Cleaning? How about Spring Emergency Preparedness!
Spring is officially here and that means the plants are blooming, the sun is (sometimes) shining, and the grass is green! We've had our fair share of severe weather already, but spring weather is notoriously unpredictable. While you're in the midst of spring cleaning and garden care, consider completing these emergency preparedness tasks.
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EWEB General Manager Delivers 2024 State of the Utility
General Manager Frank Lawson delivered his address at the March 5 public Board of Commissioners meeting
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Nine days without power: My ice storm story as an EWEB customer and employee
While beautiful and peaceful, buying a home on the edge of the forest and surrounded by trees has its tradeoffs. Moving “upriver,” I knew there would be more threats to prepare for, including Mother Nature’s seasonal surprises.
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EWEB achieves power restoration milestone over the weekend
Crews have so far restored power for 92% of customers who originally lost power at the height of the ice storm.
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Reenergized McKenzie River Valley transmission lines allow EWEB crews to restore power upriver
On Friday, a majority of EWEB crews tackled power restoration efforts upriver, after federally managed transmission lines were reenergized Thursday.
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EWEB estimates one week to complete power system restoration
On Wednesday, EWEB crews restored power for about 10,000 customers by repairing large equipment first.
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Second round of ice and ensuing thaw prompt mass power outages
On Wednesday, all EWEB crews, who have been working nonstop since Saturday, traversed EWEB’s service territory assessing the damage and restoring transmission lines and main power feeders.
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Power restored at EWEB’s water treatment plant
Crews restored electric power at EWEB's Hayden Bridge Water Filtration Plant Monday evening, allowing operators to switch off the generators and rely again on the grid. Meanwhile, EWEB crews brace for additional outages amidst second round of ice and during the coming thaw.
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EWEB crews making downed lines safe and restoring power across Eugene and the foothills
As EWEB works to restore electric service to customers affected by the ice storm, the customer-owned utility is following established policies and its “hierarchy of repair” to prioritize repairs that restore electric service to the greatest number of customers.
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Leaburg Decommissioning Action Plan
Plan details next steps through regulatory processes to begin dismantling Leaburg Dam by 2032.
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What’s ahead in 2024: General manager’s message to EWEB customer-owners
At the start of the new year, we back at accomplishments from 2023 and look ahead at what's to come in 2024.
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Currin Substation: End of year update
EWEB Engineer Philip Peterson explains what's been happening in the final stretch to complete the substation rebuild.
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City and EWEB Reach Agreement on Sale of Riverfront Property
April 13, 2017
In April 2017, EWEB and the city of Eugene reached an agreement for the sale of the utility's riverfront property, marking a key milestone in the efforts to redevelop the site. The riverfront property holds enormous redevelopment potential, enabling acres of underutilized downtown property along the Willamette River to transition from industrial to a mix of uses that include residential, retail and office.
The transformation of the approximately 16-acre property is a critical piece in connecting Eugene's downtown to the Willamette River and creating an active place for the entire community. EWEB has done much of the groundwork to prepare the property for a different future, including adopting a site master plan with broad community support and rezoning the property to allow for mixed use development and a public park along the river's edge.
"This is a tremendous and long-awaited opportunity to transition the property from its industrial origins to a future that benefits the whole community," said EWEB General Manager Frank Lawson. "I'm confident that the site, even with its development challenges, can become a lively riverfront destination that supports the revitalization of the downtown and our overall economic prosperity."
The sale of the property for $5.75 million is a negotiated price based on two previous property appraisals. It does not include about 5 acres of property where the utility's headquarters, customer service center and associated parking is located, but does consider the level of public infrastructure investments needed to bring about the type of development envisioned. This includes a new riverfront park and an improved railroad crossing to access the property, among with other investments that improve connectivity from downtown to the river.
While the headquarters is not in play at this time, EWEB is actively involved in a planning process to consolidate staff at the utility's Roosevelt Operations Center in west Eugene to make the remainder of the riverfront available for sale and redevelopment.
EWEB decided to sell the riverfront property in 2013 after relocating our operations and engineering functions to the better situated location in west Eugene. After the initial developer backed out of property sale negotiations in 2015, EWEB asked the city to take a lead role in negotiating sale of the surplus property. In July 2016, the Eugene City Council authorized the city manager to negotiate the outright purchase of the surplus property.
"The agreement with the city is the best path forward to realize the community-supported Master Plan vision and enables EWEB to focus attention on our core mission—reliable electric and water service," Lawson said. "I share the community's eagerness to see redevelopment get underway soon, and I'm confident that the city is best suited to work directly with private developers to make this project happen."
A webpage is now available on the city's website—www.eugene-or.gov/riverfront—with information regarding the redevelopment, including a new video highlighting the project.
EWEB will complete remaining environmental remediation work over the next several months. We share the community's interest in high quality development along the river in an environmentally responsible way, and look forward to seeing a legacy project emerge on this property that we can all be proud of for generations to come.